


All I've Done

by lannisterslioness



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dark, Ex cops, F/M, Gang Violence, Gangs, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-05-18 05:49:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5900695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannisterslioness/pseuds/lannisterslioness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe Dameron has a dark past, and after his new neighbor - Rey - gets attacked by her ex-boyfriend, he has no choice but to go back to it in order to keep her safe. Despite slowly learning more about the man who saved her life, Rey can't help but become more and more fascinated by Poe with every passing day. </p><p>***</p><p>Based on an AU created by hey-there-bret.tumblr.com</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I know, I know, I've started another Damerey fic. I'm slowly trying to make my way through my list which is leading to me starting a lot of fics, but thankfully for most of them I have endings in mind so you won't be left hanging. This one has been on my list for a while and I've wanted to write it, but I never found the right inspiration until recently, I hope you guys enjoy it!

_ Once I led a different life, and it tried to destroy me. Now instead, all the choices I’ve made haunt me everyday.  _

 

    It was a loud knock on his apartment door that pulled Poe away from his thoughts and nightly ritual of trying to drown out the world with something to smoke. Poe put it out with a sigh, grabbing his jacket off a nearby chair and heading to the door where frantic knocking was still echoing through the entire apartment. 

 

    “I’m coming, I’m coming.” Poe grumbled, slowly making his way to the door until he pulled it open, less than surprised to see one of the more paranoid tenants of the building, Finn, standing at the door - a panicked look in his eyes. “What is it Finn?” Poe asked, Finna had a tendency of over-reacting, though from time to time his paranoia was well placed. 

 

    “There’s this girl who moved in on my floor two weeks ago, young, alone, doesn’t say much-” 

 

    “What’s the problem?” Poe asked before Finn gave him his whole paranoia-induced observations which he actually kept written down and in a notebook by his front door. 

 

    “She’s screaming. I-I think someone’s in there hurting her, but I didn’t see anyone go in, I don’t think she’s doing it to herself, she sounds like she’s in pain.” Finn spat out quickly, grabbing onto Poe’s arm now. “I can’t go in there by myself, you have to go.” 

 

    Poe liked Finn, he really did, but there were days he wished he hadn’t told the young man that he was an ex-cop, every time something went bump in the night, he’d always hear Finn knocking on his door until his knuckles were raw. But it was also ingrained in Poe to protect people, ten years in the force was enough to leave him with that one good trait, and sometimes Finn’s observations turned out to be life-saving. 

 

    “Alright, show me her apartment.” Poe pulled his apartment door shut behind him and waiting for Finn to let go of his arm. Once the young man started leading him up the stairs, Poe followed and could slowly hear the screams getting louder and louder. 

 

    Poe lived on the third floor, Finn lived on the seventh, it wasn’t surprising that he couldn’t hear the screams, but he was surprised Finn was the only one who wanted to do something about them as he went up further and the screams got louder. By the time they reached the sixth floor, Poe sprinted ahead of Finn and made it up to the seventh floor. 

 

    “Which apartment?” Poe called down to Finn, still climbing the stairs. 

 

    “7C!” Finna called up. 

 

    Poe searched the doors until he found the source of the screams coming directly from 7C. He knocked on the door a few times, all he heard was more breaking objects and a girl screaming, a guy barking orders at her as well. Knowing the flimsy locks that donned just about every door of whoever Poe hadn’t talked to yet about changing their locks, he was able to bust down the door with a few hits from his shoulder, revealing the scene in front of him. 

 

    There’s some guy with a gun, waving it around, pointing it at the girl's head while he has her pinned against the wall, one of his hands easily covering her entire neck and choking the life out of her without even knowing it. There were shattered objects on the floor, he could see the defensive wounds on the girl's hand which told him he had threatened her with more than a gun before he entered the room. All she was trying to do now was get the strung-out looking man’s hands off of her, trying to be able to breathe and keep from passing out. Once the strange man locked eyes with Poe, he let the girl go and pointed the gun at him, his hands shaking and a twitching yet menacing look on his face. 

 

    “Get the hell out of here!” The man shouted at the top of his lungs, he was unstable, that much Poe could tell, and who knew what the hell he was on, but Poe knew he had to play it safe until he saw a chance. Finn must have popped up behind him since the man’s aim shifted to somewhere over Poe;s shoulder. “You too!” 

 

    “He’s got a gun, oh god he’s got a gun.” Finn whispered. 

 

    “I see that.” Poe mumbled. 

 

    “SHUT UP!” The man was getting more and more unstable by the second, shifting his aim between Poe and Finn. “Did she call you? Did Rey call you?” He asked in a panicked tone, aiming the gun at the girl on the floor now. “DID YOU CALL THEM?” 

 

    While Poe had the chance, he ran up to the man, knocking him down onto the floor and pinning him down. 

 

    “Finn, grab the damn gun!” Poe shouted. 

 

    Finn ran into the apartment, grabbing the revolver and doing as Poe taught him a while ago, emptied out all the bullets before tossing it out into the hallway. Poe got a few punches in on the stranger before he got off of him, pulling the man up to his feet and shoving him out the front door. 

 

    “If I see you come back here, you’ll be leaving in a goddamn ambulance, understand?” Poe snapped. 

 

    The man nodded, picking his gun up on the way out before running down the stairs, his face a bloodied mess, but sadly not near as bad as the girl lying and the floor, Finn trying to get her to stay awake. 

 

    “I think she needs a hospital.” Finn said, frantically searching the apartment for a phone. 

 

    “Hey, hey, are you alright?” Poe asked, kneeling down beside her now, he knew she wasn’t alright, but he had to keep her talking. “What’s your name, is it Rey?” 

 

    “Yeah.” The girl croaked out. “Thanks.” 

 

    “You’ve got to stay awake right now, okay? I know it’s hard but you’ve got to stay awake.” Poe brushed some of her hair back, it was smeared with her own blood from the bleeding wound on her forehead, her lips was swollen and bleeding, there were bruises on her neck and arms already showing up. She more than likely had a concussion as well, and all he wanted to focus on was keeping the young woman awake. “Who was that guy?” 

 

    “Ex.” Rey mumbled. “...found me.” 

 

    “He won’t come back, I promise. If he does he’ll wish he didn’t.” Poe swore to her then and there. There were a lot of bad people in the world, Poe wasn’t fond of any of them, but for someone to have the nerve to beat up someone so small and fraile as this girl before him, they were the worst of the worst. The stranger was lucky he didn’t kill him himself with his own bare hands. 

 

    “They’re on the way!” Finn shouted, a phone still pressed to his ear as he was talking to the operator. 

 

    “Stay with me, Rey.” Poe told her. 

 

    “What’s...your name?” Rey said, it paining her to say each word. 

 

    “Poe, Poe Dameron. I live in 3A.” Poe told her, he wanted to pull her into his lap, but he knew the worst thing he could do was move her right now. “The ambulance is coming, okay?” 

 

* * *

  
  


**_Two Days Later_ **

 

    Rey’s head was fuzzy, she could remember bits and pieces of medics showing up at her apartment, a man named Poe talking to her and following her into the ambulance but not much else. Everything was bright - she assumed she was still in the hospital considering her last memories - and everything seemed far too white. The only splash of color was from the yellow daisies at her bedside, a small little bouquet with a small little teddy bear holding onto the vase. On the other side there was a chair with a man,  _ Poe _ \- his clothes had changed but there were dark circles under his eyes despite being fast asleep, his black curly hair was unkempt, he was using his leather jacket as a blanket over him, and his head was resting in one of his hands as he tried to get some sleep, she didn’t know how long he’d been here, but he was the only one. She tried to sit up a bit, pain instantly hitting her, her head was still throbbing with pain, she remembered Logan hitting her over the head with the vase she’d gotten before moving into the new apartment, she actually liked that vase a lot and now it was gone. The minute she moved the bed creaked, and Poe instantly stirred in his chair. 

 

    “You’re awake?” Poe asked with a yawn.

 

    “You didn’t have to stay.” Rey insisted, her voice was still groggy and her throat still hurt, but it was better than she remembered.

 

    “You were nearly beaten to death and the hospital said you had no emergency contacts, I wasn’t about to leave you alone here.” Poe stated. 

 

    “Well...thanks.” Rey said with a sigh. “You don’t have to stay any longer.” 

 

    “I called out sick for a week at work, they didn’t know when you’d wake up so I took the week just to be sure.” Poe sat up, grunting a bit and Rey seeing his bruised knuckles, she remembered Poe beating up Logan, but she didn’t remember it being that bad. “Besides, I do leave to shower and get changed.” Poe smirked. “Finn is here when I’m not, I’m just glad I was here when you woke up.” 

 

    “Thank you, for saving me...and for staying.” Rey said. 

 

    “God, seeing you like this makes me want to go hunt that bastard down that did this to you.” Poe grumbled, moving his seat closer to Rey and resting his hands over the rails on the side of the hospital bed. “Are you sure you’re alright? I can get a nurse.” 

 

    “I’m fine for now, I’m sure they’ll poke and prod me once they know I’m awake.” Rey sighed. “And don’t waste your time with Logan, he’s a dirtbag, you scared the shit out of him, he won’t come back.” 

 

    “He better not.” Poe growled. 

 

    “Are you this passionate about every stranger you help out?” Rey asked with a slight smile, her hand weakly reaching up and grabbing his, her hand looked so small compared to his, and her pale skin under this harsh light didn’t make things better. 

  
    “I hate seeing this happen to people, I’ve seen it too many times.” Poe took a hold of Rey’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Some more familiar faces are introduced, mostly though mentions but one through a flash back, hope you guys like this chapter!

_ “Flyboy,” Phasma called out, Poe turned to face her, Phasma was intimidating sitting down, when she was standing up towering over him and just about everyone except for Kylo Ren himself, it only made her intimidation even worse. “Don’t screw this up tonight, alright? If you do, you’re going to end up dead and we’ll just be back to square one looking for someone who can handle this shit.”  _

 

_     “I get it.” Poe sighed, tonight was a big night, and tonight just so happened to be the night where Poe had to decide to keep up his act and kill someone for the sake of catching Kylo Ren - or drop the act and pull out of the sting telling his bosses he couldn’t get close without getting blood on his hands.  _

 

_ All Poe could really remember of that night anymore was that there were gunshots and he ended up covered in blood - and not his blood either.  _

 

* * *

  
  


    Rey woke up in the middle of the night, it had been a week and her ribs were still killing her, her eye was still a bit swollen but getting better, and with her back aching so much it was hard to find a comfortable spot on her mattress. Luke had been taking it easy on her down at the shop, not wanting to out his ‘ _ best mechanic’ _ completely out of commission, and he was quick to make threats of that if he ever saw that dirtbag Logan’s face around his shop he would personally beat him to a pulp. Things were slowly getting better thanks to Poe Dameron who scared Logan off for good, but Rey hadn’t seen him since they had let her out of the hospital. He kept to himself, that much she was able to tell pretty quickly, the only person she saw around the building that she remembered from that night was a man named Finn - he was completely paranoid of everything, but he was nice underneath the crazy. Rey kept trying to think up things to say to Poe, something to break the ice and possibly actually talk to the man when she wasn’t on the verge of unconsciousness. All of her thoughts seemed to fall short of a proper introduction, until she thought up something that was bound to work - or at least hoped would work. He seemed to be living alone, she never saw any girls going to meet him and never heard anything other than the TV blaring in his apartment when she walked past;  _ ‘The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’ _ she could practically hear her Aunt Leia saying in her head. 

 

    She had a day off, and she spent that entire day trying to cook a baked ziti, failing, calling Leia to ask for the recipe, and attempting a second time to make an edible baked ziti. Once attempt number two was finally complete right around dinner time, Rey took the baked ziti and made her way down to Poe’s apartment, thankful that she asked Finn what apartment Poe lived in yesterday. Rey hesitated for a moment outside the door, trying to gather what she was going to say, and then with one deep breath, finally knocked and waited for Poe to answer.  

 

    “Rey, is everything alright?” Poe asked as soon as he opened the door, his eyes searching her face of any distress before noticing the pan in her hands. 

 

     “I’m fine, I just wanted to bring you this.” Rey offered, holding it up a bit more for Poe to notice and a smile on her face, despite the slight pain that radiated from her healing black eye that she so desperately tried to cover up with makeup. 

 

    “You didn’t have to do that.” Poe said, taking the baked ziti from her and kicking the door open a bit more. “At least have some of it with me, it’ll take me weeks to eat this all by myself.” He grinned. 

 

    “Sure.” Rey shrugged, walking into the apartment a bit, just enough to pass the kitchen and stand in the hallway to wait for Poe. 

 

    “Sorry if it’s dark in here,” He called out from the kitchen. “I, uh, don’t open the windows much, you can turn on a few more lights if you want, I don’t mind.” 

 

    “Okay.” Rey answered, walking slowly into the rest of the apartment, turning on a light that hung over a kitchen table and a lamp in the living room area. It was still dark but better than it had been. 

 

    The place was tidy and not exactly what Rey expected from a man who was living by himself. There was a desk in the far corner of the room with files stacked up on in and what appeared to be boxes of files, all marked with one name -  _ Ren _ . There was a gun on the desk that gave Rey a slight pause and consider leaving the apartment, Logan had a gun, he kept it with him at all times and whenever he left it out like that back at their old place, it usually meant Rey had to hide or run. But then she saw the pictures on the wall, Poe in a police uniform, him shaking hands with people who looked like Commanders, and even the mayor at some point - he was a cop, or at least judging from the amount of time he spent at home, he used to be. 

 

    “Shit, sorry about that.” Poe sighed as he set the baked ziti as well as plates and utensils down on the table before heading over to the gun on the desk and locking it up in a gun safe on the other end of the room. “I hope that doesn’t make you uncomfortable...especially after what happened, it’s a force of habit.” 

 

    “It’s fine.” Rey nodded, though she had to admit she felt a bit safer with the gun locked up. “Cop, right?” She asked, pointing to the pictures on the wall. 

 

    “I used to be.” Poe gave a small grin, pulling out a seat at the table for Rey before taking a seat of his own. 

 

    Rey sat down, trying to push her uneasy thoughts out of her head; Poe wasn’t like Logan, Poe saved her while Logan wanted to bash her skull in for up and leaving him the way she had. 

 

    “What happened?” Rey asked. “If you don’t mind me asking that is.” 

 

    Poe didn’t answer, he just kicked his left leg out from underneath the table and pulled his sweatpants up just above his knee, enough for Rey to see a long and ugly scar down the front of his knee. 

 

    “Shot in the knee, that happens it’s either desk duty or you’re done for. It’s not exactly good to have a limping cop out in the field, even though I can walk on it pretty good now, hell, I can even run again.” Poe said as he pulled his pant leg back down and tucked his leg back under the table. 

 

    “How did that happen?” Rey asked curiously. 

 

    “Long story short, I got it while out on the job.” Poe shrugged. “This looks pretty good, I can’t remember the last time I actually ate something that was home cooked instead of take out.” He quickly changed the subject and Rey took it as a hint to stop prodding into his past. If she had learned anything in her time of being with Logan, it was that when a subject was changed, it was best to leave it alone before things got violent. 

 

    “I hope you like it.” Rey answered quietly and gave a small smile. She felt Poe’s eyes linger on her for a moment as she cut up the baked ziti and put some on his plate first, she always hated being under someone’s gaze but tries to pretend he wasn’t watching. 

 

* * *

  
  


    Three days later, Poe had somehow managed to finish the giant baked ziti Rey had made for him, though it took him eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner those three days to actually get it eaten in that short span of time. He had washed the dish and decided to bring it back to Rey instead of waiting for her to come looking for it, not to mention she didn’t seem all that comfortable in his apartment the other night. Had he known she was coming he would have made the place look a little less like a washed up and paranoid cop was living out his days in it and a bit more like a normal human being dwelled there. Poe marched up the stairs, taking his time since his knee decided to act up a bit with the cold weather starting to set in for the winter, and was just about to knock on her door when she walked out of it, jumping at the sudden sight of him and dropping her keys and coffee which was now spilling out all over the ground. 

 

    “Are you alright?” Poe asked, more than concerned for Rey’s well-being as he sat the dish aside on the floor and knelt down beside her, picking up her coffee cup before more could spill out everywhere. 

 

    “Yeah, god, I’m sorry, I just-I...ugh, god, I’ve had a shitty morning.” Rey groaned. Her hands were shaking, she looked pale as a ghost, and there was the clear indicator of bags under her eyes that told him she hadn’t slept all night. 

 

    “Where are you heading off to?” Poe noticed she was dressed in coveralls covered in oil stains, her hair pulled up in a messy bun and not a stitch of makeup on her face. 

 

    “I have a job down at Skywalker’s.” Rey answered with a yawn, getting up off the floor and playing around with the keys in her hands nervously. 

 

    Poe got up slowly with the dish and her coffee cup in hand, giving it back to her. “I was just bringing this back finally.” Poe held out the dish to her which she took with a slight smile. 

 

    “Thanks.” Rey nodded and grabbed the dish, putting it down on a nearby counter inside her still open door. 

 

    “Are you sure you’re alright?” Poe asked again, knowing she was far from it. 

 

    “No, I’m not.” Rey admitted. “Logan called all last night, my cell is filled with drunken messages of him begging me to come back, and the longer I let it go to voicemail, the more violent he got. He threatened me with some guy he knew in the last one and...god, I’m not okay.” Her voice shook at the end. 

 

    “Can I hear that message?” Poe asked. 

 

    Rey sniffled and gave him a nod, digging her phone out of her pocket and keying in her voicemail code before handing the phone over to Poe. He listened to every message, going to drunk and stupid, to drunk and violent, the last particularly stuck with him considering it’s content. 

 

_ “Listen here you little bitch! I’m giving you one last goddamn chance to come home right now, so help me I’ll have Kylo Ren drag your ass back here half-dead if I have to.” _ The message ended there and that was all Poe needed to hear - Kylo Ren. The man who no one has ever seen face to face, the man he so desperately tried to hunt down by infiltrating his ring of drug dealers and mercenaries that he called ‘The First Order’, the man he killed for and got so close as meeting his second in command - General Hux - before being pulled out due to his injury. 

 

    “Do you think you can call out of work for a little bit? Until you get a restraining order on this guy?” Poe asked. 

 

    “Probably, Luke’s a good guy, I told him all about Logan either way, he’d understand.” Rey said. 

 

    “Good, come on, I’m taking you down to the station myself, I’ve still got a few friends there that can get a rush on that restraining order, especially with a message like that.” Poe sighed. 

 

    “Okay.” Rey nodded. “Uh, thanks Poe.” 

  
    “It’s not a problem, I just don’t want that maniac getting close to you again and bringing some other psycho with him.” Poe said, he figured it was best to leave out just how dangerous Kylo Ren was for now, there was no need to get her nervous like that - not to mention the chances of some druggie like Logan knowing  _ the _ Kylo Ren himself was highly unlikely, but he knew the name and that was enough to make Poe worry about Rey’s well being. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I suppose this chapter could be considered fluffy? It basically consists of Rey choosing to drink with Poe after the morning she's had :P I figured I'd give fluff before I start brining in the rest of the action.

    Jessika owed Poe a favor, she owed him several favors to be exact since he was the one to train her before he left and had taken more than a few bullets for her - including the one to the knee. She got the restraining order expedited and by sometime tomorrow it would officially be illegal for Rey’s low-life ex-boyfriend Logan to get within two hundred feet of her. While it was a step in the right direction, Poe could see Rey was still on edge after those messages, and to be quite honest after the mention of Kylo Ren, Poe didn’t feel at ease either. 

 

    “Are you going to be okay?” Poe asked as he walked Rey up to her apartment door. She was hesitating, playing around with the keys in her hands and chewing on her bottom lip. 

 

    “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine.” Rey answered quickly, nodding as if she were trying to convince herself that she was actually going to be okay. 

 

    “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” Poe assured her, slowly turning around and taking his leave. 

 

    As soon as he reached the first step to head downstairs, he felt Rey’s hand grasping as his arm and holding him in place. 

 

    “Can I...uh...can I just stay with you until later?” Rey asked hesitantly. “It’s stupid, I know, but I’d just...I’d feel safer.” 

 

    “It’s not stupid.” Poe said and took a few steps down before holding his hand out to her. “Come on, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.” 

 

    Rey let out a sigh of relief, something she wasn’t even aware that she was holding in, but as soon as she took ahold of Poe’s hand, she knew she felt safer than she had in awhile. 

 

    “Thanks.” Rey mumbled. 

 

* * *

  
  


    As soon as Rey got into the apartment, the first thing Poe did was make sure he actually put up his gun last night instead of having it lie around. He opened up a few blinds that let sunlight in and he almost forgot just how bright the apartment could be if he opened the windows more often. Rey still seemed fidgety, out of place, more like a deer trapped in the headlights and Poe could only imagine what must have made her this way. 

 

    “You can sit anywhere you want.” Poe offered, gesturing to the open seating in the apartment. 

 

    Rey gave a slight nod before heading over to the couch and slowly taking a seat, he saw a slight wince of pain and couldn’t help but feel the anger bubble up, he should have done far more than chase Logan off. 

 

    “How is everything healing up?” Poe asked. 

 

    “It’s fine, it’s all a bit bruised, but it’s better than it was.” Rey said. 

 

    “That’s good.” Poe answered, he could tell she was lying, he’d learned how to spot a liar a mile away back when he was on the job; she was hurting and pretty badly, more than likely not taking the pain meds the doctor gave her once she was released and dealing with the pain by gritting her teeth. “You want anything to drink?” 

 

    “Depends, do you have any alcohol? It feels like an alcohol kind of day.” Rey admitted.

 

    “All kinds, really. Most days are alcohol days for me.” Poe admitted, he wasn’t ashamed of what he did to cope with what he saw for ten years. 

 

    “Surprise me then, give me something you drink a lot.” Rey replied.

 

    Poe nodded and made his way into the kitchen, grabbing the whiskey from his shelf lined with a variety of liquor bottles. and pouring a glass for him and a glass for Rey. He brought it out to her and took a seat on the sofa beside her, almost leaping off it and into action as soon as he heard Rey coughing and gagging. 

 

    “Are you alright?” Poe asked. 

 

    “I took a big sip of it.” Rey answered between coughs, a smile creeping up on Poe’s face before it turned into a bit of a laugh. “What was that?” 

 

    “That’s whiskey.” Poe answered. “I should have warned you, it’s more of a slow sip kind of drink, it’s not the kind you chug in one shot.” 

 

    “Good to know.” Rey said, giving her final few coughs before catching her breath again. 

 

* * *

  
  


    Poe handled his drink as he always had, not a single one of the four he downed so far really bothered him or made him feel any different; Rey was a different story. She didn’t drink much, or at least he was able to tell that from how she started getting giggly around the second drink and had a hard time focusing on anything. She was almost adorable in the way she acted, though he really wished she stayed put instead of getting up and wandering around the apartment, making her chances of falling and hurting herself far greater. It was sometime around four o’clock in the afternoon when the hunger finally hit her, the alcohol slowly leveling off, and Rey rummaging through the fridge for anything other than leftover Chinese food.

 

    “Is the only thing you eat leftover Chinese food?” Rey asked with a bit of a laugh as she poked her head out of the kitchen. 

 

    “Sometimes I live dangerously and order a pizza.” Poe chimed in with a smirk as she rolled her eyes. “I don’t cook much...or ever. It’s almost strange to just cook for yourself.” 

 

    “That sounds like no one was ever taught how to cook.” Rey pointed out. 

 

    “I was a cop for ten years, I didn’t exactly have time to take cooking lessons in-between being called in or working twelve hour shifts.” Poe laughed. 

 

    “One of these days we’ll change that. I feel like the least I should do is teach you how to cook one day instead of eating take out all the time, that can’t be good for you.” Rey laughed. 

 

    “You don’t have to do anything for me Rey.” Poe told her. “I’m just doing my job, it’s a habit.” 

 

    “Still, I’m going to teach you how to cook when I’m not tipsy.” Rey stated, coming back to sit on the couch beside him with a bag of pretzels she found stuffed in one of the cabinets. 

 

    “Thanks.” Poe smirked, grabbing a handful of pretzels realizing he was a bit hungry himself. “Well, I can’t cook, and you’re too drunk to cook...want to order a pizza?” 

 

    Rey was quiet for a minute, thinking while she chewed on the pretzel before her eyes lit up and she nodded with a grin. “Fine, but just this one time, starting tomorrow I’m teaching you how to cook.” 

 

    “It’s a deal.” Poe nodded. 

 

* * *

  
  


     Rey ate about two slices of pizza once it arrived before she curled up on the couch and was fast asleep. Poe was tempted to wake her up, to bring her to her apartment and let her wake up in her own place, but he figured there wasn’t any harm in letting her stay - she finally felt safe enough somewhere to get some sleep. Instead, Poe pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over her and made sure she was covered up, he even brought out a few spare pillows and tried to gently put them behind Rey’s head to make sure she was comfortable. 

 

    She mumbled a few things in her sleep, nothing significant. Poe wandered around the apartment and cleaned things up a bit while keeping an eye on her, it was only six o’clock after all and they’d spent most of the day in a drunken haze after coming back from the station. It wasn’t until she started crying and thrashing around in her sleep that Poe ran to her side and tried to gently pull her out of the nightmare, he knew nightmares like that all too well. 

 

    “Shh, Rey, it’s okay. It’s me, Poe, you’re safe, nothing is going to hurt you here.” He whispered to her, he held her hand until she pulled it away and then tried to stroke her loose strands of hair back. 

 

    Rey’s eyes slowly opened and it took her a moment to realize that she was in his apartment still, somewhere she was safe and where Logan couldn’t get to her. 

 

    “Sorry.” Rey mumbled. “I’ve been having nightmares lately.” 

 

    “It’s okay.” Poe assured her, pulling his hand away and just staying in front of her, making sure she was alright. 

 

    “I should probably get back home.” Rey yawned as she sat up. 

 

    “You can stay wherever you feel safe, if you feel safe at home I’ll walk you up there.” Poe said. 

 

    “...You mean I could stay here if I wanted?” Rey asked curiously. 

 

    “Wherever you feel safe.” Poe repeated with a slight nod. 

 

    “Do you mind if I just crash on the sofa then?” Rey asked quietly, unsure of what Poe would say or react to her actually asking this of him. 

  
    “Go ahead.” Poe assured her with a smile. “I don’t mind.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So this chapter starts out calm, but Poe has just stirred up the bee hive again and trouble is unfortunately coming for these two after what he's done! Enjoy the fluff before the storm...

_ “Where’s Kylo Ren?” Poe asked.  _

 

_     He was in a dark room, a desk separating him from the red-headed man sitting in the black leather chair, staring him down without the slightest hint of emotion crossing his features. Phasma was standing in the corner of the room, her gun in her hands as she watched him closely.  _

 

_     “Why are you so eager to meet him?” The man questioned.  _

 

_     “I like to know who I’m working for.” Poe countered, he was promised a meeting with the boss after passing Phasma’s tests, but now he was face to face with someone who was not Kylo Ren.  _

 

_     The red-headed man grinned, folded his hands in front of him on the desk, and leaned forward a bit. “You work for me.”  _

 

_     “I was told you were his second in command.” Poe stated.  _

 

_     “It’s true, I am. But Kylo Ren is like a mad dog without a leash, if you should ever find yourself coming face to face with him, you’ll be sure to lose your head or worse. Be glad that you’re dealing with me, General Hux.” The man finally gave his name.  _

 

_     “Hux...okay.” Poe finally sighed and leaned back in his chair, Phasma’s grip on her gun eased slightly.  _

 

_     “If you ever feel so inclined as to meet Kylo Ren, disobey and order, he’ll show up on your doorstep shortly after.” Hux assured him.  _

 

* * *

  
  


    Rey was fast asleep on the sofa, the blankets pulled up around her shoulders and looking like she was finally getting the first good sleep she had ever gotten in a long time. Poe didn’t disturb her, he just quietly made his way into the kitchen and started making coffee, hoping the smell of it would wake her up from her peaceful slumber. He sat down at the chair by his desk, shuffling away more old papers that he had dug out after Rey had mentioned Kylo Ren. It was easy enough to track Hux and Phasma’s movements - especially with Jessika slipping him whatever information they uncover in the past years since he’s been off the force. Hux never got his hands dirty, he was always going back and forth between meetings and such, but never had a single weapon on him, that was what the goons who surrounded him were for. Phasma was the troublemaker, as soon as she was arrested, she was sprung without a single mark left on her record despite all that she’s ever done. 

 

    He heard Rey stirring as he shuffled the papers away, closing the last folder as soon as she sat up and stretched her arms out. Her hair was a mess, curled up and frizzy, but there was something about it that he found adorable. 

 

    “Morning.” Poe called out to her. 

 

    Startled, Rey jumped and looked behind her, her big brown eyes wide with fear only for a split second until she realized it was Poe. After that she relaxed, turning around on the sofa with ease and leaning on the back of the sofa, she seemed comfortable for being in such a foreign place. 

 

    “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Poe apologized. 

 

   “That’s alright.” Rey assured him. “Morning. Is the coffee done yet?” 

 

    “I’ll check.” Poe told her, and as he rose his knee kicked in, sending the familiar shoot of pain he’s dealt with at least once a day for every day since he’d gotten the injury healed. He held on to the back of the couch and winced in a bit of pain, Rey jumped up from the sofa and ran to his side before he could even realize what happened. 

 

    “Are you okay?” Rey asked, her voice full of concern and worry as she grabbed his other arm and helped him stand up straighter. 

 

    Poe looked up and saw the worry written all over her face, she looked scared but a different kind of afraid, the kind that thought she was about to lose someone. 

 

    “I’m fine.” Poe said as he rose up on his own, taking Rey’s hands gently and detaching them from his arm. “Morning pains, that’s all, I’m good the rest of the day.” 

 

    Rey nodded and took a step back, lingering near him the rest of the morning as he poured her a cup of coffee. She stayed most of the morning, calling her boss and telling her she’ll be there in the afternoon, and when the time came that Rey actually left, Poe felt alone for the first time since he left the force. But there was work to be done, he wanted to know who Rey’s ex really was and if he had any real ties to Kylo Ren, if he did, he wanted to make sure that Rey was as far away from the “ _ mad dog without a leash _ ” as he possibly could. 

 

* * *

  
  


**2 Weeks Later**

 

    Rey could have gone home after work, and she did - briefly - to take a shower to get the grease off of her and change out of her work overalls. Then she found herself knocking on Poe’s door and waiting right outside it until she heard someone come up the stairs and smile when she saw it was him. She wasn’t sure why he meant so much to her already - he saved her from Logan, he helped her out, let her crash on his couch, and now she found herself waiting for him to get home like a pet waiting for their owner to open up the door. However, as soon as Rey saw the bruises on his face, the black eye, busted lip, and blood stains on his shirt, her heart dropped. 

 

    “Poe, are you okay?” Rey asked in a panic, running down to meet him at the stairs and help him the rest of the way up, putting his arm around her shoulder and guiding him to where he needed to go, taking the apartment keys out of his hand. 

 

    “I’m fine, most of it is the other guys.” Poe told her, gesturing to the blood stains on his shirt. “He’s a quick son of a bitch though, I’ll give him that.” 

 

    “Who are you talking about?” Rey asked. 

 

    “I paid your ex a visit. He said something on those voice mails I didn’t like, I handled it.” Poe said. “Don’t worry about him, he won’t come here looking for you, he won’t come here for me, I wanted to know something and I got it from him, it’s done.” 

 

    Rey didn’t even know where to begin questioning him, instead she just got him up the stairs and in his apartment, getting him to sit down on the sofa while she dug through his freezer for some ice to put on his wounds. Once she had a bag full of ice, she grabbed a rag and ran over to him, sitting down right in his lap without a second thought and pressing the ice bag wrapped up in a dish towel gently to his face, taking a closer look at what was done. He had a black eye, busted lip, and something hit him across the face that was leaving a nasty bruise. Other than that, his knuckles were bruised and swollen and stained with someone else’s blood - Logan’s blood - to be exact. 

 

    “Why did you go after him, what did he say? It was a while ago Poe, you should have left it alone.” Rey sighed. 

 

    “I was tracking him down, he mentioned a name that had me worried, I’ve been looking for him and found out he really knew him, I just want you safe.” Poe mumbled. 

 

    “What name?” Rey questioned. She’d deleted the voicemails finally and forgot nearly all about them, but now here was Poe, beating up Logan to get information on some threat. 

 

    “Kylo Ren. When I was in the force I was tracking him, he’s dangerous Rey, he’s a killer. I don’t want you on his radar in any way, I wanted to make sure of it.” Poe pleaded, he grabbed her arm and Rey froze, she could tell he was telling her the truth, he didn’t want her hurt, and it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her - just protect her. 

 

    “I’m okay, you’re okay, don’t worry about whoever Kylo Ren is, okay?” Rey whispered. 

 

    Rey had to admit she always found Poe attractive, she knew he was older than her and there were certainly the scars on him to prove it, but there was this magnetic pull she felt towards him that had only grown stronger over the past few weeks. She was so close to him now once she moved the ice pack away, and there was a spark in his eyes she’d never encountered before, something that looked hungry and full of desire, something she was beginning to feel right to her core. Rey kissed him, closing the distance between them and tangling her fingers in his hair, casting the bag of ice aside and focusing just on his lips. She made him work for the kiss a bit, he tried a few times to get her to open his mouth to him until she relented with a grin and was glad that she had. His hands rested on her waist, having his hands on her made Rey react with a slight movement of her hips that got a groan out of Poe that drove her nearly insane. She pulled away from him grinning and breathless while Poe grinned back at her, taking one of his hands from her hips and running his fingers through her loose hair that she had down for once. 

 

    “So...do you want to take this to the bedroom?” Rey asked, biting down on her bottom lip and wondering if her boldness would be rewarded. “Unless you’re too hurt or something.” She second guessed herself, seeing the bruises again. 

 

    “I’m never too hurt for you.” Poe answered with a grin. “Are you sure though? I mean we’ve been close the past few weeks but-” 

 

    “I want to have sex.” Rey blurted out. “Right now, with you, in your bed...if you don’t mind.” 

 

    Without another word, Poe scooped Rey up despite his injuries and carried her to bed, her nipping at his collarbone and giggling the entire way to the bed, and from the moment Poe laid her down and started kissing every square inch of her, he knew he was the luckiest man in the entire world. He would never let anyone, not even Kylo Ren, touch a single hair on her head, she meant too much to him now, she was part of his life, and he would be damned if someone tried to take that away from him. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Remember how in the last chapter Poe thought it would be smart to go beat the information out of Rey's ex about how he knew Kylo Ren? Yeah, that drew some attention to him...

    Rey quickly became the center of his world, everything just seemed to fall into place for the pair in the matter of a few months. She brightened up his dark and gloomy world; she made him laugh, she made him think about the future, she got under his skin in the best way possible when Poe was sure that something like this was impossible to obtain anymore. She made him unexplainably happy, and waking up with her in his arms made him feel like he was the luckiest man alive. Rey was warm in his arms, he was wrapped around her and she was wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts that practically looked like a dress on her small frame, her dark brown locks free from her usual bun and spread out over the pillow. He ran fingers through her hair and gently pressed a few kisses to her temple, when she started squirming around and groaning, a smile crossed Poe’s face as her brown eyes fluttered open. 

 

    “Morning.” Rey mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before rolling over in Poe’s arms, coming face to face to him with a smile of her own. 

 

    “Morning.” Poe chuckled, pressing a quick kiss to her nose and causing her grin to widen. 

 

    “What time is it?” Rey asked with a mumble, it was Thursday and she had the late shift, went in at noon and came out around eight depending on how busy they were. 

 

    “It’s only nine.” Poe said, “Figured I’d wake you up and make some breakfast.”

 

    “Oh no, you are  _ not _ making breakfast again after the bacon tragedy.” Rey giggled. “I’ll make it.” 

 

    Before Rey could even protest, she jumped up out of bed just out of Poe’s reach with a smile on her face. The shirt just barely came halfway down her thighs, and she was just the most tempting sight to look at, her hair tousled and the shirt riding up in just the right places. 

 

    “I change my mind, I don’t want breakfast, come back to bed.” Poe pleaded, reaching out to grab her but Rey staying just out of his reach. 

 

    “No, I’m making breakfast.” Rey giggled. “Come on, lazy bones, up and out of bed.” 

 

    Poe groaned as Rey flitted out of the room, by the time he threw his legs over the edge of the bed and started standing up slowly to let his bad knee adjust for the morning, he could already hear Rey out in the kitchen, banging around pots and pans to start cooking. Once Poe got up and walking, his knee eased up while he made his way out to the kitchen, sitting on one of the bar stools to watch Rey busy herself, completely lost in her own cooking. They had breakfast together, spent some time just enjoying each others company until noon came around and Rey was running out the door, late as usual, and giving him a kiss before leaving for the night. 

 

* * *

  
  


    It was an old and long abandoned shipping house out by the river that ran through the city, most of the windows shattered and the once navy blue building was now consumed by rust, making it more brown than anything else. The sun was setting when a leather gloved hand reached out and carefully opened the door while it creaked and moaned in protest. There were guards all around, none unfamiliar to Hux, and at the center of the room was their usual table, Phasma leaning onto and occupying her time with breaking toothpicks while waiting for Hux to finally arrive. The other person present was one Hux rarely saw, but was even more terrified of than Phasma herself - the midnight black hair and menacing scar across the man’s angular featured face identified as no one else other than Kylo Ren himself. He rarely attended meetings unless they were important, other than that with Phasma and her men as the brawn and Hux as the brain, they managed smoothy. But when Kylo Ren came out of hiding, it meant something had gone wrong that they had not managed. 

 

    “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company, Ren?” Hux questioned as he took his seat across the table from Phasma, a grin on her face as she snapped her last toothpick and turned her attention to Kylo Ren. 

 

    “One of your rats came to me last week, Hux. Logan something. He was apparently hospitalized by a good friend of ours for quite some time.” Kylo stated. 

 

    “He’s a strung out rat, I’ll have him taken care of.” Hux sighed. Eventually, one of the drug rats always found Kylo one way or another, he had to admit they were crafty, and he usually had Phasma handle their executions after they had pestered the man himself. 

 

    “No need, I’ve already handled it, but while he was pleading for his life he did mention the name of the man that came after him.” Kylo sighed. 

 

    “Why are we listening to a dead rat?” Hux questioned. 

 

    “Because the rat found Flyboy.” Phasma grinned. “He was whining about some ex-cop beating him up, telling him to stay away from some girl. She’s a pretty little thing, I followed her all last week, such a tiny little fragile bird that he just adores to pieces.” 

 

    “Dameron?” Hux questioned. “He disappeared off our radar years ago and a rat managed to find him?” 

 

    “The rat drew him out, he started to care about this girl and well...exposed his own weakness in the process.” Kylo stated. 

 

    “The girl?” Hux asked. 

 

    “She works at Skywalkers not far from here. I’ve been keeping an eye on her, she works late on Thursdays. Shouldn’t be hard, I’ll grab her and he’ll come running to save his precious little dove.” Phasma smirked. 

 

    “Dameron knows you, you’ll have his little bird make a call and lure him down here, I’ll handle the rest.” Kylo said. “This is the last time we let someone escape our hold.” 

 

    “And what of the girl?” Hux asked. “We can’t just let her go.” 

 

    “I’ll handle her.” Phasma said. “You two have never had much of a stomach when it comes to killing the girls either way.” 

 

    “It’s settled then, once Phasma brings the girl back here, we lure Dameron out and handle things.” Kylo said. “I’m counting on you two to bring him to me.” 

 

    “We will.” Hux stated. 

 

* * *

  
  


_ Shit, shit, shit _ was all Rey could think. She had missed a month, she didn’t think much of it until she started feeling a bit queasy at lunch, and not wanting anyone else to know, Rey excused herself and went down to one of the pharmacys close by to take a pregnancy test once she got back. When that damned little pink plus sign was  staring back at her she felt her stomach drop a bit. She was trapped, she didn’t know what to do, she was too young to be having kids, but it wasn’t like this child was exactly a mistake. Poe was older than her, he’d been talking about always wanting a family one night and one too many drinks later, Rey was completely charmed by the idea and found herself actually trying for children with Poe, and it actually worked. Rey had been good since that night, though it was always nagging in the back of her mind about the fact of that she could actually be pregnant, and now it was set in stone. She was going to work this out, young or not, she found herself falling in love with Poe, and while it was quick, she’d keep this baby and hopefully keep a family with him together. 

 

    Rey was left with closing duties tonight, tossing the pregnancy test in the garbage and making sure to take it out with her so no one would hit the only girl in the garage with a million questions about whose legs they needed to go break for knocking her up. Trash was out, lights were off, and as Rey was locking up the doors, she turned around and ran straight into a woman twice her size, and staring down at her with a smirk on her face. 

 

    “Uh, sorry, we’re closed.” Rey mumbled. 

 

    “That’s alright little bird, I’m not here for the cars.” The woman said. 

 

    Before Rey could react, a fist met her face as she collapsed down onto the concrete, her jaw throbbing from the sudden force she had just been struck with, and the rest of her body aching from the impact. She groaned as the woman picked her up and tossed her over her shoulder with ease before loading her into the backseat of an SUV, tossing her purse and keys in with her to not leave any hints of a struggle behind before jumping into the front seat. 

 

    “Please, don’t hurt me.” Rey pleaded out. “Don’t hurt my baby.” She mumbled the last bit, which caused the woman to freeze and turn to face her. 

 

    “Baby? Oh, sweetheart, you’ve just made my day.” The woman grinned. “Flyboy will come racing after you.” 

 

    “Why are you doing this?” Rey questioned. 

  
    “You’ll find out soon enough.” The woman assured her as they began to drive off, and Rey let herself go unconscious from the hit, not wanting to feel anymore of the pain throbbing through her bones. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And this fic has finally reached it's end. I wanted it to be a bit longer originally, but when it came to actually writing the ending, I couldn't think of a way to sort of fill it up? I thought it would seem to stretched out and just unfinished if I made these separate chapters. Either way, for all of you that have read this fic I hope you've enjoyed it and that you enjoy this last chapter! :3

    It was nearly eleven o’clock, and Poe knew Rey should have been home by now. She was never late on the nights she closed, she always said how she hated coming home so late and how creepy it was at night by the shop. Poe offered every week to pick her up from work, but Rey was stubborn, and she also wanted to prove her newfound independence, so every week she would come home alone and always on time, and Rey being late made Poe feel sick to his stomach. He grabbed his coat off the rack as he walked out the door, playing the last voicemail he got from Rey this afternoon. 

 

_ “Hey, it’s me. Uh, just wanted to check in, I was on my lunch break, you’re probably out and about...I have a surprise for you, I mean I know you’ll like it but I’m terrified, but if I have you...either way, I’ll tell you when I get home, it’s better than over the phone. Love you. Oh, and please god, no seafood tonight, I’m so nauseous today and I don’t feel like smelling shrimp. Okay, Love you.”  _

 

    She sounded nervous throughout most the message which was strange, especially since she was talking about some surprise she never elaborated on, though she sounded like her normal self complaining about the shrimp. Poe tried calling her for the fifth time in the past hour she’s been late, and with every missed call his anxiety grew. Once he reached his car, the phone rang and he nearly jumped out of his skin, hoping it was Rey just calling to tell him they got held up with a customer at the shop or one of the cars needed a last minute repair - anything really - other than what call he got. It was from an unknown number, and the moment the distorted voice came through the phone, his heart sank. 

 

    “Poe Dameron, I hear you’ve been looking for me.” The voice had almost a jovial tone to it, as if they were on top of the world. “I’ve been looking for you as well.” 

 

    “Who is this?” Poe demanded, not feeling up for playing games. 

 

    “It’s your old boss.” They stated, and Poe’s worst nightmares came true. 

 

    “Kylo Ren.” Poe stated. 

 

    “See, you remember me after all. I’m sure by now though you’ve noticed your girl was missing, don’t worry about her, she’s safe and sound. I haven’t harmed a hair on her pretty little head, in fact we’re keeping her quite comfortable, you have to think about the innocent little baby she’s carrying after all.” Kylo said. 

 

_ Baby?  _ Poe realized then what Rey’s “surprise” was, the one he would like and she was scared to death about - she found out she was pregnant - and today of all days, Kylo Ren made his move. 

 

    “Let her go, this is between you and me, leave Rey and the baby out of this.” Poe snapped, getting into his car and starting it up. 

 

    “Now, now, I think we can settle this. We’re down at the docks, come alone, if there’s even a hint of your little cop friends following you, Rey will die.” Kylo’s voice was hollow as he spoke now, no emotion or remorse present. 

 

    When Poe heard the dial tone come through, he had to make a choice. If he went in alone to the docks, he was sure he would die, he could probably talk them into some extra time, a minute to kiss Rey and get her out of there before she had to watch him die. But if he showed up with Jess and a few other detectives, he’d be able to catch them, but he’d also risk losing Rey and the baby, something he never wanted to lose. He needed time, he needed to get there and make them believe he was completely alone, he needed to get Rey safely in his arms and get her the hell out of harm's way before Jess and the others would come along. Poe dialed up Jess as quickly as he could and told her to give him a twenty minute head start, he’d have Rey out by then, as long as she was safe that was all that mattered, but if he died tonight he wasn’t about to leave her with the constant worry of Kylo Ren still out there and watching her and their baby. 

 

* * *

  
  


    Poe had an odd combination of emotions running through him as he walked up to the familiar warehouse on the docks, being greeted by the platinum blonde haired woman he’d seen kill dozens of men with just her fists alone. He was anxious for one, it was different now that Rey was involved, when it was just his life on the line he didn’t care, but there was Rey and their baby to consider now, he had to be smart about how he went about this meeting or they could both end up killed before Jess and her reinforcements surround the place. He was also angry; angry at himself for being so stupid and drawing Kylo Ren’s attention, angry for not being there when Rey got taken and she was more than likely terrified by now, he just wanted all of this to be over and apologize to Rey in every humanly way possible, though nothing could make up for the terror she must have been put through until Kylo called him. 

 

    “Flyboy, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it?” Phasma asked with a grin. 

 

    “Yeah, it has.” Poe grumbled. He wanted to snap at her or let out his anger, but he had to stay in control of the situation and he certainly wouldn’t be anymore if he angered Phasma. “Where’s Rey?” 

 

    “Don’t worry, your pretty little bird is fine.” Phasma said. “A little bruised, but hey, that’s bound to happen.” 

 

    She reached behind her and pushed the door open, gesturing for Poe to enter first. He walked in slowly, his nerves kicking in when Phasma walked in and closed the door behind them. There in the center of the room was a black haired man with a long and ugly scar down his face, accompanied by a sickening smile that made Poe want to knock his lights out when he saw him running his hands through Rey’s hair who was tied up to the chair beside him and gagged. She had a huge bruise on her jaw forming, her eyes were watery and red from her crying, and all Poe could hear were her mumbles pleading for help as soon as she saw Poe. 

 

    “There you are.” The man turned to face Poe with that same smile, the voice may have been different, but Poe knew it was Kylo Ren himself now - finally in the flesh. “We’ve been waiting patiently for you, though I have to admit, you showed up quicker than I expected. Such a shame too, I was about to run some baby names past your pretty little girlfriend here.” 

 

    “Let her go.” Poe’s voice was low, he could feel his anger bubbling up the more Kylo touched her, and every time she tried to flinch away he grabbed her by the shoulder, digging his nails in and surely he was leaving marks on her, and Poe couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him - yet. “This is between me and you, leave Rey out of this and let her go.” 

 

    “I suppose I could.” Kylo sighed, running a finger over her dark purple bruise, Rey just closed her eyes and whimpered, waiting for it to be over. She’d been terrorized by Logan for two years and was just getting adjusted to living a normal life with a normal man, all Kylo was doing to her now was bringing up memories she wanted to forget and Poe tried so hard to help her get over. 

 

    “Let. Her. Go.” Poe was demanding now, taking a step forward and instantly hearing every gun in the room click and get ready to fire, all locked on him. 

 

    “Fine. She was getting boring anyway, so much crying, it could just be the hormones, but she’s a bit of a drag after a while.” Kylo shrugged, taking the gag out of her mouth and cutting her free. “Go on, fly away little bird.” 

 

    Rey ran straight to Poe, sobbing and burying her face in his chest, holding onto him with all her might and only making Poe fill with fury; these people had hit her, tortured her, and god knows what else before he showed up - he so desperately wanted to kill Kylo Ren in that moment.

 

    “Shh, it’s okay Rey, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” Poe whispered into her hair, pressing kisses to the top of her head and rubbing her back. When she flinched after he touched a certain spot, he knew they hit her more than just the bruise on her jaw. “What do you want?” Poe demanded, holding Rey close and careful to avoid the other bruises he couldn’t see but knew were there under her shirt, her flinching every time he hit one and the number of times she flinched made him sick. 

 

    “Well, there’s the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you talk your way back into your old station, visit a friend maybe, and burn every file they have on me and my men. The hard way is you say know, I shoot the girl in the stomach while you slowly watch her die, and once she’s dead, I’ll shoot you in the head and watch you bleed out on my floor.” Kylo’s grin grew wider, he thought he was winning, that he was going to get exactly what he wanted. 

 

    “I’ll do whatever you want, just let me send Rey home, she needs to sleep and calm down.” Poe said, Rey glanced up at him with her eyes still watery and held onto him tighter. 

 

    “Fantastic!” Kylo cheered. “I knew you would see it my way Dameron, I never liked it when people chose the hard way, it takes so much time to pressure wash the blood out of these floors. The both of you can go, Phasma will be watching of course to make sure you don’t do anything stupid, but I’ll let you take her home, I can’t stand her whimpering anymore.” 

 

    Poe felt that flare of anger again, but he kept himself calm when he felt Rey tug on his shirt in an attempt to get him to leave, she probably wanted to run from this place as fast as she could. 

 

    “I expect to hear some good news by tomorrow morning.” Kylo called out as Poe led Rey out the front door. 

 

    He walked her all the way out and Phasma was just about to shut the doors when Jess and her reinforcements showed up a bit earlier than Poe had hoped. Poe held onto Rey tightly as the gunshots rang out, making sure to keep Rey turned away from the gunfire and glad he did so when he felt something sharp pierce his shoulder, a stray bullet taking a knick right off of him, but enough to make him bleed and make it look bad though it was nothing serious. By the time it was all over, Kylo’s crew were either leaving in police cars of body bags; Kylo, Hux, and Phasma all being arrested together. The medics came and stitched Poe up, recommending he go to the hospital but he refused, wanting to stay by Rey’s side as they said she had to go to be checked, especially the baby. 

 

    Later that night, Poe was falling asleep by Rey’s bedside, her bruises luckily being all superficial and the baby being deemed stable and healthy, though the doctor wanted to keep her overnight for observation. Poe refused to leave her side, and Rey seemed relieved for it, despite all the tears she shed earlier, Rey was slowly returning to her old self, Poe telling her jokes and happy things to make her smile, anything to make her smile really. 

 

    “I love you, more than anyone in the entire galaxy, do you know that?” Poe asked her with a soft smile. 

 

    “I know.” Rey giggled. “And I love you too.” 

 

    “And don’t think I forgot you.” Poe smiled as he placed his hand gently on Rey’s abdomen. 

 

    She was so tiny, Rey had always been tiny for as long as Poe knew her, he found it hard to imagine her pregnant really, a giant belly on her small frame, but it was a sight he looked forward to seeing. 

 

    “I love you very much too.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her belly, Rey giggling in response before stealing a kiss from his lips. 

 

    “We’re going to be okay, right?” Rey asked. 

 

    “We’re going to be great.” Poe assured her. 

 

* * *

 

**6 Months Later**

 

    Life had changed a lot for Poe and Rey in the matter of a few months. With the baby on the way, Poe got a bigger apartment for them on a much safer side of town. He picked up a job down at Luke’s garage as well, working longer hours to get Rey to go home and rest to stay off her feet the bigger she got. Luke put her behind the desk for now since she insisted on continuing to work, and both him and Poe had told her that if she wanted to keep going for another month or two, she’d be behind the front desk instead of out by the cars. Rey grumbled and groaned about it, but eventually accepted since she refused to be sitting at home doing nothing. Poe liked the days when Luke gave them days off together, they were becoming a bit more frequent with Rey now six months pregnant and looking like she somehow managed to swallow a watermelon whole. 

 

    He got to wake up to Rey sleeping, nestled in his arms and gently snoring a bit which only made Poe smile. His hand drifted down to her stomach, still in disbelief that there was a little life growing in there - a little girl they planned on naming Delilah to be exact. Poe pressed a kiss to the top of her head first, watching her wiggle around and try to ignore it and go back to sleep, but once Poe kissed her again and again she finally opened up her eyes and pressed a kiss to his lips. 

 

    “You know, I’m sleeping for two now.” Rey mumbled, rubbing her eyes and pulling down one of Poe’s oversized t-shirts that she had stolen to sleep in back over her belly. Even six months pregnant she was still tiny compared to most pregnant women, especially for having a girl. 

 

    It worried Rey sometimes, she would always ask the doctor if it was normal and she always assured her that it was, that their baby might be born a bit small, but it was nothing to worry about, that her and the baby were both healthy and perfectly normal. 

 

    “Oh really?” Poe asked with a grin and kissed her right at her jawline, the day those bruises from Kylo and his gang disappeared, Poe made sure to kiss every place where they had been to assure her that he would never let anything like that happen to her again. 

 

    “Yes, really.” Rey laughed. “I need my beauty sleep.” 

 

    “Well, I think you’ve got enough beauty sleep to last you the next hundred years.” Poe said with a smirk, pressing another kiss to her and getting a little lost in the moment, pressing kiss after kiss against her soft skin. 

 

    “Oh no, you woke me up, you’re going to make me breakfast first before anything like that, I’m starving.” Rey laughed and sat up in bed, just out of his grasp but a smile still on his face. 

 

    “So I’m allowed to make breakfast now?” Poe asked curiously as he sat up beside her. 

 

    “I trust you enough to make oatmeal, with strawberries, and oh! Some sugar too.” Rey grinned, she had gained an enormous sweet tooth since she became pregnant, nearly everything she ate had to have something sweet with it. 

 

    “Whatever you want.” Poe leaned over and kissed her quickly on the neck. “I love you.” 

 

    “I love you too.” Rey smiled back. “But I’ll love you even more when you come back with food.” 

  
    Poe laughed and got out of bed, making his way to the kitchen while Rey laid back down, pulling the blankets up around her and enjoying the comfort of their bed. 


End file.
